World Literature: Essay on Judgement and Absurdity in The Stranger

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This essay provides an in-depth analysis of societal judgment as depicted in Albert Camus's novel, The Stranger. It explores how the protagonist, Meursault, is judged and condemned by society due to his indifference and unconventional behavior. The essay examines the themes of absurdism and existentialism, highlighting Camus's critique of societal norms and the imposition of rational order on irrational experiences. It discusses the role of the court, the prosecutor, and other characters in representing society's judgment of Meursault. Furthermore, the essay analyzes the use of motifs, such as weather, to illustrate the suffocating effect of societal pressures. The essay also highlights Meursault's detachment from societal expectations, and the novel's exploration of the consequences of nonconformity and the search for meaning in an absurd world. The essay uses quotes from the text to support its arguments.
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Running head: THE STRANGER
The Stranger
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note
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THE STRANGER
The Stranger is the name of a novel that was written in the year 1942 by the French
author called Albert Camus. The theme of the book shows Camus philosophy of absurd along
with the existentialism. The novel depicts the judgement of the society towards those people who
are different from the common norm. This essay sheds light on the problem of the judgement in
the novel. The novel also discusses about the willingness of the society of taking on
responsibility and the power of the judgement. The essay argues that the society involves itself in
judging the other people on the basis of the preconceived notions and the values.
Albert Camus has made use of judgement that acts as a tool that helps in promotion of
postmodern idea that the society involves itself in criticizing and oppressing the people who are
not like the other people. The author has placed motifs along with the elements that helps in
pushing idea of the societal judgement on that of the reader (Camus, 2018). Meursault, the
central character in the novel takes the decisions that are characterized by the element of
irrationality. There does not exist any logical reason that made him marry Marie or kill the Arab.
His indifference to the death of his mother Maman has been illustrated with the help of following
lines:
“Maman died today. Or yesterday, I don't know.” (Karliegriffin.com., 2019).
Camus has tried to convey the idea that the things that take place in the society without any kind
of reason can prove to be threatening for the normal order of the society. The novel has shown
the fact that society tries to superimpose the rational nature on the irrational character of
Meursault.
The prosecutor and the magistrate in the novel symbolize the society and they form part
of court that stands as a microcosm of the society. Idea of the court helps in representing the
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THE STRANGER
society as law functions in the society on the basis of will of people. The jury in the novel sits in
the judgement which is on behalf of that of entire community. Prosecutor tries to interpret the
killing of Arab in a manner that is rational which reveals the fact that society tries to impose the
rational character on the irrational personality of Meursault (Kaplan, 2016). The prosecutor tries
to provide rational explanation in relation to the murder of the Arab and he explains each step
that paved the way for the murder.
Meursault is thought of to be an unnatural force within the human skin and his
detachment makes him seem inhuman in eyes of the society. In the novel, The Stranger the
author has tried to assert the fact that social in reality is the unnatural force that pervades the
lives of the characters. The novel shows that in the event of Meursault being alone, weather is
the typical Algerian summer. On the other hand, it is seen that in the event of people trying to
press the societal norms upon him, calm weather is replaced by that of unnatural and the stifling
heat. This has been revealed with the help of following lines:
“All that heat was pressing down on me and making it hard for me to go on.” (Karliegriffin.com.
2019).
The societal judgements are imposed on Meursault and this changes the calm atmosphere into
that of the suffocating inferno. The society wants to force Meursault into that of a contrived
profile. The weather in the funeral of Maman was pleasant and comfortable. In the event of the
other people besides that of Meursault arriving in the funeral the calm weather undergoes
transformation (Hobson, 2017). There are many characters who watch Meursault that helps in
depicting the judgement that the society was making in regard to the character of Meursault.
Meursault watches the people on the streets and he takes in the absorbing details but he does not
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THE STRANGER
judge the actions of the other people. Mersault does not judge the woman but continues to
observe her. This has been brought out with the help of the following lines:
“I had dinner at Celeste’s. I’d already started eating when a strange little woman came in and
asked me if she could sit at my table. Of course she could. Her gestures were jerky and she [was]
meticulous […]. Then she stood up, put her jacket back on with the same robot like movements,
and left. I didn’t have anything to do so I left too and followed her for a while. […] I thought
about how peculiar she was but forgot about her a few minutes later”. (Karliegriffin.com., 2019).
On the other hand, people who are present in courtroom watch the character of Meursault as
being process of the judgement along with the condemnation.
The novel helps in depicting judgement of society and how the society wants to impose
the rules on the other people. The judgements have been imposed on that of character of
Meursualt which changes calm atmosphere of room into that of suffocating inferno.
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References
Camus, A. (2018). The Outsider (L’Etranger). Oberon Books.
Hobson, A. (2017). The Outsider. In Albert Camus and Education (pp. 41-56). SensePublishers,
Rotterdam.
Kaplan, A. (2016). Looking for The stranger: Albert Camus and the life of a literary classic.
University of Chicago Press.
Karliegriffin.com. (2019). Retrieved from http://karliegriffin.com/school/The%20Stranger%20-
%20Albert%20Camus.pdf
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